Erato 13-15 AD
Description
Queen Erato’s second reign closed the native Artaxiad-Orontid line. After the recall of the unpopular Herodian, Tigranes V, Armenian nobles invited the former co-ruler Erato to the throne, hoping that a familiar, dynastic figure would steady the kingdom without provoking Rome or Parthia.
Numismatic evidence is all that survives of this interlude. Two bronze issues—bear her veiled bust and the legend Basileissa Erato. On the larger coin the reverse shows the fortified gate and walls of Artaxata, the other issue, shows a royal tiara. Both denominations carry the date “Year 3.” Whether that numeral continues the count of her first joint reign (8 – 5 BC) or marks a fresh era remains unclear; therefore the second reign may have lasted only months, not three full years.
Diplomatically Erato faced an impossible balance. In AD 15 the ex-Parthian king Vonones I, acceptable to Rome and supported by factions at court, pressed his claim to Armenia. Rather than draw the country into another war, Erato abdicated and withdrew from public life.
Numismatic evidence is all that survives of this interlude. Two bronze issues—bear her veiled bust and the legend Basileissa Erato. On the larger coin the reverse shows the fortified gate and walls of Artaxata, the other issue, shows a royal tiara. Both denominations carry the date “Year 3.” Whether that numeral continues the count of her first joint reign (8 – 5 BC) or marks a fresh era remains unclear; therefore the second reign may have lasted only months, not three full years.
Diplomatically Erato faced an impossible balance. In AD 15 the ex-Parthian king Vonones I, acceptable to Rome and supported by factions at court, pressed his claim to Armenia. Rather than draw the country into another war, Erato abdicated and withdrew from public life.
Collection Tree
- ANCIENT
- Armenia Major
- Erato 13-15 AD
- Armenia Major